Director of UH Manoa Center on Disability Studies Named President of National Organization

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

HONOLULU — Dr. Robert Stodden, director of the Center on Disability Studies (CDS) and professor of special education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, was recently named the incoming president of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The organization that represents more than 100 disability-related programs at universities and medical schools named Stodden their next president of the Board of Directors at the Annual Association Meeting and Conference in Bethesda, Md., on November 3, 2001.

Stodden will serve as the 34th president of the AUCD Board of Directors and will represent the Association in discussions with federal health, human service, and education agencies, advocacy groups, and other national associations.

Professionally trained in psychology, special education and rehabilitation, Stodden has served more than 25 years as a national leader in the fields of special education, school-to-adult transition, postsecondary education, and employment for persons with disabilities. Since 1988, he has served as the founding director of the Center on Disability Studies, a University Center for Excellence, and professor of special education at UH Manoa. He also serves as the originator and director of the National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports (NCSPES) and the National Technical Assistance Center for the Employment of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders with Disabilities at UH Manoa.

Over the past 25 years, Stodden has served as principal investigator/director for more than 100 research and training projects focused upon improving the quality of life for all persons with disabilities. He has been a keynote speaker and invited presenter for many international and national conferences, and has served as a consultant within numerous foreign countries and more than 20 different states within the United States.

In 1995, Stodden was selected as a Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation Senior Policy Fellow, working in the United States Senate to develop and draft policy language for major pieces of disability legislation. In addition to serving as the president of the board for AUCD, he serves on policy committees of the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Division on Development Disabilities of the International Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

Formerly the American Association of University Affiliated Programs for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, AUCD‘s mission is to advance policy and practice for and with people living with developmental and other disabilities, their families and communities. AUCD emphasizes national implementation of innovations in education, health care, and prevention, and supports services for people living with disabilities and special health needs. It provides national leadership on major social problems affecting children and adults living with developmental and other disabilities or special health needs. AUCD accomplishes this by advocating with Congress, executive branch disability related agencies, and by partnering with members and other national organizations.

A network of interdisciplinary centers, which includes University Centers for Excellence, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Programs, and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (DDRC), AUCD members engage in research, education, and service that further independence, productivity, and full community participation of people with developmental disabilities.

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NOTE TO EDITOR: A photo of Dr. Robert Stodden is available upon request. Please call (808) 956-5039 to request a photo via e-mail.